


Doing Her Job

by ncis-mcrt (AzaWhite)



Category: NCIS
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Post-Episode: s16e18 Mona Lisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 19:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18349859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzaWhite/pseuds/ncis-mcrt
Summary: People forget Ellie Bishop was an analyst for NSA for over six years. That she's a person of logic. That she does things based on evidence, not gut feelings..Or, Ellie spends the evening defending her actions to herself.





	Doing Her Job

**Author's Note:**

> Based on some lovely analysis by dwaynepride on tumblr. If Torres is an emotion-driven person, Bishop is driven by logic. That's why they're appealing as a couple. And that's why that last scene in "Mona Lisa" is so important. I don't mean to excuse Bishop's insensitivity--rather, this is a brief attempt to explain it.

Ellie goes home alone that night. Her mind whirls, replaying her last conversation with Nick over and over and over.

 

_If the shoe were on the other foot…_

 

She slams the door to her apartment shut with a little more force than strictly necessary. After flicking the lock and dumping her bag on the floor, she grabs a box of cereal and trudges to her bedroom. A couple blankets and minutes later, she settles herself into a makeshift nest.

She shoves her hand into the cereal box and stuffs her mouth with dry Coco Pebbles. They taste old, but she isn’t going to bother checking the expiration date. Not when she feels like this. Steadily, Ellie polishes them off, pulling the bag from the box and tilting it into her mouth to get the last powdery crumbs.

 

_Is it possible that in your altered state…_

 

A six-pack of beer is retrieved from the fridge. She may not be able to get drunk, but at least she can enjoy a little buzz. With each beer, she gets a little more confused, a little angrier.

 

_What do you want? An apology?_

 

She’d only been doing her job. Someone had to ask. Gibbs and Tim sure as hell hadn’t. And she hadn’t implied he’d done it on purpose. Anyone in an altered-enough state could do pretty much anything. God, the number of times her data at the NSA had focused on blackmail and bribery alone indicated normally kind, caring people could do terrible things.

And Torres had been drugged! So what if she asked if it was possible he might’ve shot someone? It was only a logical conclusion. All the evidence pointed at him.

 

_You looked guilty as hell!_

 

Wasn’t it her job? To find the guilty party? To find whoever had committed the crime of the case? He shouldn’t have been as mad as he was. Nick, of all people, should know that she was a person of logic.

Ellie wants to pick up the phone, to call him, to berate him. To say that she was doing her job. That it isn’t a matter of faith; it’s a matter of logic. But she doesn’t. Instead, she curls deeper into her covers and pretends the last few days have been anything but reality.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you like this, please drop some kudos and/or a comment.


End file.
